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Medical Ethics Case Study
Introduction
Professionals in every field are always confronted with some kind of ethical issues. It has however been noted that these ethical issues become high in magnitude and extent when public officials are involved. Due to the involvement of human life, an industry like healthcare holds ethics in highest regard. Even though these healthcare practitioners are highly trained to deal with issues of these kinds, their decisions can sometimes have a lasting impact on their professional and personal lives (Edwards 2009).
The general awareness among patients on their rights during a medical procedure often conflict with the morals of the healthcare industry. Many times healthcare professionals are caught between unpleasant situations in which the critical part is that they have to make a decision. It becomes more difficult when the professionals have to compromise on their moral or ethical principles. In such scenarios, making a decision offends the other and in either the loss is to the healthcare professionals involved. It has been a challenge for ethics committees to balance between the code of ethics and legal requirements, and the benefit or wellbeing of the patients together with their families. The situation is nothing but a dilemma to the healthcare industry (Pozgar 2010).
Discussion
In the case of Mrs Xi, the main question is whether it is ethically reasonable to inform her of her health condition. Mrs. Xi has been diagnosed and found to be suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis which her daughters insist that when she is informed this, it would be like giving her “a death sentence” given that she considers the disease fatal. The issue is complicated by the fact that Mrs Xi is an independent widow...
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...ics. 2nd ed. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
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Cherry, B. and Jacob, S. R., 2008. Contemporary nursing: issues, trends & management. 4th ed. Missouri: Mosby/Elsevier.
Edwards, S. D., 2009. Nursing ethics: a principle-based approach. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
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Fry, S. T., Veatch, R. M. and Taylor, C., 2010. Case Studies in Nursing Ethics. 4th ed. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Pozgar, G. D., 2010. Legal and ethical issues for health professionals. 2nd ed. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Yeo, M., 2010. Concepts and Cases in Nursing Ethics. 3rd ed. New York: Broadview Press
During week 4, we became familiar with the application of ethics in the nursing practice settings. We learned about ethical theories and principles, which are crucial when practicing in any clinical settings during ethical decision-making and while facing one or multiple ethical dilemmas. Also, we were introduced to the MORAL model used in ethical decision – making progress. The MORAL model is the easiest model to use in the everyday clinical practice, for instance at bedside nursing. This model can be applyed in any clinical settings and its acronyms assist
Veatch, Robert M.,"The Normative Principles of Medical Ethics." In Medical ethics. 1997. Reprint, Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 1989 29-56.
The classical term for the word ethics is, moral philosophies that rule an individual’s or group behavior or action. The American Nurses Association used ethics to write the Code of Ethics for Nurses with these values and visions in mind: “(1) As a statement of the ethical obligations and duties of every person who chooses to enter the profession of nursing. (2) To act as the nonnegotiable standard of ethics. (3) To serve as an expression of the understanding on nursing’s commitment to society.” (Nurses Code of Ethics, 2015). With our ever-changing society and healthcare, also comes changes to the American Nurses Association’s
Grace, P. J. (2014). Nursing ethics and professional responsibility in advanced practice. (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Ethics has been a popular topic in nursing for a long time. Nurses are expected to demonstrate ethical decision-making as well as professionalism. I believe that in order to accomplish this, they need to use the ANA Code of Ethics as framework for their decision-making. It is also imperative for nurses to have a strong understanding of ethics, because they will be faced with many difficult ethical decisions that do not always have a straightforward solution.
American Nurses Association. (2015, January 2015). Code of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements, 1-76. Retrieved from
Thompson, I. E., Melia, K. M., & Boyd, K. M. (2006). Nursing Ethics: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.
This paper will focus on two BNUR leaner outcomes (University of Calgary, 2013) relevant to my learned understanding of nurses as ethical decision makers. I will outline the ways that I have seen ethics used and not used in practice, what I learned about ethics and its use in my theory courses and throughout my practicums, and I will reflect on how this understanding will translate into my professional practice moving forward.
Burkhardt, M. A., & Nathaniel, A. K. (2014). Ethics & issues in contemporary nursing (4th ed.). Stephan Helbra.
The term nursing ethics means that the nurse has an obligation judge what is right and wrong in her or his duties as guided by the profession or the moral principles that govern the profession and as prescribed by the professional body. Nursing ethics initially encompassed virtues that were desired in a nurse. At the time, these virtues included physician loyalty, commitment to high moral character and obedience. Evolvement of nursing profession gradually made nurses embrace patients’ advocacy. As patient advocates, nurses work as part of an interdisciplinary team to provide patient care. Nursing ethics have kept pace with the advancement of the nursing profession to include a patient-centered focus, rather than a physician-centered focus.
Barnett, Wilson J.(1986). Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing. Journal of Medical Ethics. Retrieved on 12th July 2010 from
Tarzian, A. J., & Force, A. C. C. U. T. (2013). Health care ethics consultation: An update on core competencies and emerging standards from the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities’ Core Competencies Update Task Force. The American Journal of Bioethics, 13(2),
In every nurse's career, he or she will face with legal and ethical dilemmas. One of the professional competencies for nursing states that nurses should "integrate knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of health care and professional values into nursing practice". It is important to know what types of dilemmas nurses may face
In conclusion, there are numerous legal and ethical issues apparent in the nursing practice. Nurses should study and be as informed as they can with ethics and legality within their field in order to ensure no mistakes occur. Ethical issues vary based on patient’s views, religion, and environment. Nurses are influenced by these same views, but most of the time they are not the same as the patients. As a nurse we must learn to put the care of our patients and their beliefs, rights, and wishes before our own personal
The American Nurses Association created guidelines for the profession including, a set clear rules to be followed by individuals within the profession, Code of Ethics for Nurses. Written in 1893, by Lystra Gretter, and adopted by the ANA in 1926, The Code of Ethics for Nurses details the role metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics have within the field (ANA, 2015). Moral obligation for an individual differs within professions than it does within an individual’s personal life, so the code of ethics was written to establish rules within the profession. The moral obligation to provide quality care include the fundamental principles of respect for persons, integrity, autonomy, advocacy, accountability, beneficence, and non-maleficence. The document itself contains nine provisions with subtext, all of which cannot be addressed within this paper however, core principals related to the ethical responsibilities nurses have will be